NCAA Gymnastics

[HeatherC]

That UCLA vs. Oklahoma meet was outstanding! So many awesome routines and Peng Peng's beam routine had me all . I actually hated to see either of the teams lose because they were that good. UCLA even has room to improve so they should get even better. I'm really glad I was able to watch that live and let me second the thanks to ESPN for airing that ceremony at the end. That got me all emotional.

 

[HeatherC]

Anyone else watching any of the championship meets this weekend?

 

[ilovepaydays]

Watching SEC Champs. Not surprised that LSU won - Alabama being #2 ahead of Florida is a bit though.

Has there been a team that’s improved more in one season than Arkansas?

 

[HeatherC]

Wow, that is shocking! I was watching SECs for the first hour and then I flipped over to watch the Big Ten champs but I thought Florida was doing fine overall at the time. I guess they had some rough FX routines (according to Twitter)? That is very shocking. No surprise about LSU winning overall. They're pretty solid.

Ohio State is doing very well at Big Tens! I know they have no shot to win it all but it's fun seeing them do great routines there.

 

[HeatherC]

Dang it, the Buckeyes had one of their best meets overall but a bunch of other teams did as well so just two 'not quite as good' beam routines dropped them to fifth overall. They were still awesome though and I'm super proud of them. Their new coach has a solid group to work with in Columbus so I look forward to seeing how well they can do with her next year!

 

[Aceon6]

NCAA Finals just popped into my TiVo.

Semis:
Friday 4/20 at 1:00 ESPN2
Friday 4/20 at 7:00 ESPNU
Super Six:
Saturday 4/21 at 7:00 ESPNU

Having it on U might be an issue for some. Most standard sports packages include 2 but don't include U.

 

[Fridge_Break]

Qualifiers for nationals:

#1 Oklahoma
#2 LSU
#3 UCLA
#4 Utah
#5 Florida
#6 Alabama
#8 Washington
#9 California
#10 Arkansas
#11 Nebraska
#12 Kentucky
#18 Georgia

 

[Aceon6]

I just read up on the Michigan upset. Two OBs on floor cost them the spot. Bummed!

 

[Erin]

I think the fall from Lauren Marinez was the bigger issue than the OOBs, but Michigan was a mess in general. Their beam scores were lower than normal, Townsend fell on vault, etc. Given how close they were to qualifying and how many mistakes they had, you can't point to just one thing although the floor rotation overall was the biggest problem. I was really hoping Illinois would pull it out, as that would have been a great story to qualify unseeded.

I was at the Minneapolis regional, which was a good battle to qualify for nationals, although the scores might not look like it. Kentucky and Denver were trading 2nd place until the last rotation when Denver fell apart on beam while Kentucky nailed bars and that was the difference. Kentucky was in tears when they saw they had made it - it's the first time for them as a team and with the reduction down to only 8 teams next season, it will be a lot tougher for teams like them to make it in the future so I was really pulling for them to get it. The individual race was also really exciting, since we didn't know which of Denver or Kentucky was going to get in and they both had two top all-arounders and I was really pulling for Lexy Ramler to get one of the spots, which she did. Also, shout out to Meaghan Sievers of Iowa State, who had managed to beat Oklahoma's entire lineup on vault with a great handspring pike half to qualify for nationals. And I haven't even mentioned Oklahoma. I thought they looked the best they have all year on floor and after that, looked a little less sharp on the other events, which is fine. Don't want to waste it at regionals. Maggie was great on beam and floor, and Nicole Lehrmann's bar routine was also a highlight.

 

[Aceon6]

Anyone in St. Louis? Coverage will be on ESPN2 tomorrow from 1:00 to 3:30 then ESPNU from 7:00 to 9:30. Finals are on ESPNU Sat at 7:00.

 

[annie720]

Anyone in St. Louis? Coverage will be on ESPN2 tomorrow from 1:00 to 3:30 then ESPNU from 7:00 to 9:30. Finals are on ESPNU Sat at 7:00.

I just checked the times and the channels. Excited to watch!

 

[Aceon6]

Half an hour to go. Here is the link for the live results page https://www.ncaa.com/championships/gymnastics-women/nc/live-results

 

[Aceon6]

The evening session will have a hard time keeping up with the first group. Other than a couple of falls on beam, everyone seemed to hit at or near their best.

Spoiler: Results so far

As expected, UCLA and LSU lead the session. Nebraska claimed the third spot. Kyla Ross leads the all around.

 

[Aceon6]

After the crazy good afternoon session, the evening has been kind of a dud with some major misses. Mid way into the final rotation, the only question is if Utah can hold.

 

[Coco]

I put results together from both sessions ... there may be some mistakes:

Spoiler

Vault
1t. TRUMP 9.9375
1t. Dowell
1t. McMurtry
4t. Korth 9.25
4t. Boren
6t. Nichols 9.9
Slocum (wow, what an unfortunate last name)
Snead
Houchin


Bars
1t. EBEE!!!! 10.00
1t. Maggie!!!
3t. Kyla 9.95
3t. McMurtry
3t. Lehrmann
6. Edney 9.9375

Beam
1! Peng 9.9875
2t. Nichols 9.95
2t. Ross 9.95
4t. Ohashi 9.925
4t. TRUMP 9.925
6. Gowey 9.9125

FX
1t. Ohashi 9.9625
1t. Nichols 9.9625
3t. Hambrick 9.95
3t. Baumann 9.95
5t. TRUMP 9.9375
5t. Webb 9.9375
7t. Jackson 9.925
7t. Price 9.925
(Vega in a tie for 10th with 9.9, nice job!)

All Around
1. Queen Maggie 87,000
2. TRUMP 39.725
3. EBEE 39.675
4. Kyla 39.6375 (wow, sucks to be in the first session and only anchor 1 event if I'm not mistaken)
5. McMurtry 39.5875
6. Hambrick 39.5375
7. Edney 39.525
8t. Finnegan 39.5
8t. Korth 39.5

 

[Aceon6]

Wow! Very exciting final rotation. Very happy for UCLA.

 

[Fridge_Break]

Super Six:

1. UCLA 198.0750
2. Oklahoma 198.0375
3. Florida 197.8500
4. LSU 197.8375
5. Utah 196.9000
6. Nebraska 196.8000

 

[ilovepaydays]

Wow! Very exciting final rotation. Very happy for UCLA.

Especially considering that I think that Oklahoma, while very good, was a bit overscored all season. Yep, I said it.

 

[HeatherC]

I'm not gonna lie....after Maggie won the AA title last night, all I wanted was to see UCLA put an awesome meet together and win the team title today. I felt like they had been building to this meet all season and REALLY wanted this for them. I screamed when they announced Peng Peng's beam score and literally started crying when the graphic came up saying that they'd won. I couldn't believe it and I think the team couldn't believe it either! I didn't get to catch the first three rotations but the last three were pretty darn exciting and I am just OVER THE MOON for UCLA. They were my favorite team to follow this year and after the disappointment of missing the Super Six last year, how fitting for them to come out fighting and win that title this year! Congrats Bruins!!!

 

[alexikeguchi]

I'm not gonna lie....after Maggie won the AA title last night, all I wanted was to see UCLA put an awesome meet together and win the team title today.

I am employed by University of Oklahoma and am super stoked that the men won and that Maggie was able to get the individual victory after everything she has endured, but I have to agree that it was amazing to see UCLA pull off this result. I was especially happy for Peng Peng Lee, who was a highlight when I saw her live in the dual meet last year and who was finally able to show what she's capable of after such bad luck with injuries. It's also great to see how Katelyn Ohashi has come alive in NCAA. I loved her gymnastics as an elite, but she always looked completely miserable.

As an aside, would it really be that hard for international elite gymnasts to execute NCAA level choreography in their floor routines? Pretty please?

 

[love skating]

Was so proud of my alma mater UCLA - Go Bruins! Peng Peng was so great, she will be so missed!

 

[ilovepaydays]

The season has started! I’m watching Nebraska at UCLA on ESPN2.

Kyla Ross has looked greatly improved so far - I believe she’s grown a lot in height in the last couple of years.

Nebraska overall looks greatly improved as well.

Shallow point: UCLA’s leos tonight aren’t very attractive at all. It looks almost like an ugly Christmas sweater design.

 

[HeatherC]

Really enjoying UCLA tonight! Kyla looks fabulous, Norah is gonna be a star for this team, and the other girls all seem ready to defend that national title this season. They were SO good on beam!

Agree about the leos....maybe they look better in person, LOL

BTW-I cannot wait to see what Katelyn Ohashi has in store for us on FX this year!

 

[HeatherC]

Kyla Ross on FX was awesome! So much personality...more than we've ever seen from her! I think she's in for an amazing season this year!

 

[HeatherC]

UCLA on FX is must see TV this year. That was SOOOOOO much fun to watch and I love all the personality!

Katelyn may have more energy in this one FX routine than I have for an entire week, LOL

 

[floskate]

I need to follow NCAA more often. It's way more entertaining than elite!! UCLA's floor rotation was wonderful to watch; I'd forgotten floor could be so entertaining. Kyla looks much more comfortable in this environment now and her vault was fantastic! Nice to see her upgrading. But the JOY that is Katelyn Ohashi. As an elite I couldn't watch her. Her misery was just so evident but to see her thrive like this after all she has overcome is just so inspiring. I hope she has a dream senior year.

 

[barbk]

I wonder why Jordyn Wieber is still a volunteer (vs. paid) assistant coach for the Bruins?

 

[Aceon6]

I wonder why Jordyn Wieber is still a volunteer (vs. paid) assistant coach for the Bruins?

She may be missing some educational qualifications. There are requirements for all paid coaching staff at most D1 schools.

 

[ilovepaydays]

She may be missing some educational qualifications. There are requirements for all paid coaching staff at most D1 schools.

I thought Wieber had graduated. I know most D1 coaches in most sports have a bachelor’s degree, but the field of study can vary.

There are very few paid coaching positions at most colleges that aren’t in football. Maybe Wieber will be offered a position somewhere else.

Also - another thing I noticed Friday night - where was Chris Brooks? I thought he was coaching at Nebraska.

 

[DreamSkates]

Second to skating, I love this sport. Anyone know if/when any of it will be televised?